boy's name
Raiden
RY-den
- Origin Japanese
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 14,981
the United States
#432
2025 births
Raiden is a boy's name of Japanese origin naming the god of thunder and lightning. It joins rai, thunder, to den, lightning, and its use as a given name is a Western development rather than a Japanese one.
- Raiden is a name of Japanese origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 969 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,380 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1993.
Raiden over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 134 |
| 2000s | 1,713 |
| 2010s | 6,406 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,888 |
What Raiden means
Raiden means thunder and lightning — the two words simply placed together. As a deity name it belongs to Japanese folk religion, where Raijin is the more usual form.
Where Raiden comes from
Raiden combines the Japanese rai, thunder, with den, lightning, naming the storm god more commonly called Raijin, who is depicted with a ring of drums and a fierce expression. It is a deity name rather than a personal one, and it is not given to children in Japan. Its Western life comes from video games — Mortal Kombat's Raiden from 1992 and Metal Gear Solid's from 2001 — and our records match that exactly, showing the name appearing in 1993 and climbing through the 2000s. A separate Raiden also exists as a modern respelling of Rayden and Aiden, which is how some families reach it.
Raiden in use
Raiden charts in only four of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2022.
How popular is Raiden?
In 2025, Raiden was given to 757 babies in the United States, ranking #432 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Raiden is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Raiden is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Raïden | Raïden is a rare spelling of Raiden, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 35 times, mostly in France. | 35 |
Names that peaked alongside Raiden
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Raiden also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Raiden over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Raiden
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Raiden in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Raiden
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Raiden — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Raiden
What does the name Raiden mean?
Thunder and lightning, from the Japanese rai and den. It names a storm god.
Is Raiden used in Japan?
Not as a personal name. It is a deity name, and Raijin is the more usual form.
Where does the modern name come from?
Video games — Mortal Kombat from 1992 and Metal Gear Solid from 2001. Our records show it appearing in 1993.
How popular is the name Raiden?
In 2025, Raiden was given to 757 babies in the United States, ranking #432 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Raiden a girl's or a boy's name?
Raiden is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Raiden most popular?
Raiden peaked in 2022, when 969 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Raiden?
Raiden is usually shortened to Rai.
Is Raiden a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Raiden currently ranks #432 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.